Posts Categorized: katherine tegen books

The Way Back To You~ Book Breview

07 Jun, 2016 by Heather in katherine tegen books, YA book reviews, YA contemporary Leave a comment

I received this book for free from HarperTeen in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Way Back to You

by Michelle Andreani, Mindi Scott
Published by Katherine Tegen on May 3, 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Pages: 384
Format: Hardcover
four-stars

Source: HarperTeen
Buy the Book • Goodreads

For fans of Jenny Han and Morgan Matson, a witty, poignant novel about second chances, letting go, and the unbreakable bonds of friendship.

Six months ago, Ashlyn Montiel died in a bike accident. Her best friend, Cloudy, is keeping it together, at least on the outside. Cloudy’s insides are a different story: tangled, confused, heartbroken.

Kyle is falling apart, and everyone can tell. Ashlyn was his girlfriend, and when she died, a part of him went with her. Maybe the only part he cares about anymore.

As the two people who loved Ashlyn best, Cloudy and Kyle should be able to lean on each other. But after a terrible mistake last year, they’re barely speaking. So when Cloudy discovers that Ashlyn’s organs were donated after her death and the Montiel family has been in touch with three of the recipients, she does something a little bit crazy and a lot out of character: she steals the letters and convinces Kyle to go on a winter break road trip with her, from Oregon to California to Arizona to Nevada. Maybe if they see the recipients—the people whose lives were saved by Ashlyn’s death—the world will open up again.

Or maybe it will be a huge mistake.

Cover– Fits the story perfectly. Draws readers to buy the book

Story– Raw, emotional and sad at times as two teens deal with the death of their best friend. There are questions of life after death, swallowing emotion and loyalty to loved ones.

What I Loved– The road trip element and the changes it brings in both Cloudy and Kyle to get away, serve someone else, and grieve together instead of going at it alone. The emotional moments meeting organ donor recipients.

What I Struggled With– The way the teen died. Some of the story may be triggering for anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one in the recent past. It can be heavy. There is a lot of dialogue about what lies after this life. May call in to question basic beliefs for Christian teens.

Family Relationships-Teens with strong bonds to their siblings and cousin. There is also great conversations going on between father and son. It’s not shiny and happy, but it’s real.

Fun Fact– I know one of the authors Michelle Adreani. She and I have spent fun times in New York City and New Jersey at BEA, conventions. Michelle is amazing inside an out!

Overall- You will cry. It takes a lot for me as a reader to get emotional. Heartwarming feel good ending to a tough subject.

Content-highlight to reveal Drug use, making out, talk of sexual relationships, LGBTQ teen relationship, heavy swearing in first chapters including “F’ word

Hi! I’m Michelle.

I was born in New York City, and have never lived anywhere else. (I should maybe try at some point? What’s your town like? Does it have weird bugs?)

I first learned to drive a car when I was in my twenties, which is totally normal because I’m a New Yorker, I swear! I also have two agoraphobic cats who would not be great at road trips, honestly, but they make up for that with extreme cuteness.

I am a liker of many things. These things include staying in, going out dancing, love stories, beach air, milkshakes, pop songs, and Luna Lovegood.

Mindi Scott lives near Seattle, Washington, USA with her drummer husband in a house with a non-sound-proof basement. Freefall, her first novel, was published by Simon Pulse in 2010. Her second novel, Live Through This, was published (also by Simon Pulse) in 2012. She contributed a chapter to Violent Ends, a collaborative novel written by 17 young adult authors (out in 2015), and co-wrote, along with Michelle Andreani, the 2016 novel The Way Back to You. She is represented by Jim McCarthy of Dystel & Goderich.

Elusion Blog Tour, Author Q & A, and Giveaway

14 Mar, 2014 by Heather in cheryl klam, claudia gabel, elusion, katherine tegen books 3 comments

Welcome to our stop on Elusion Blog Tour, Hosted by Rockstar Book Tours!

About the Book

Title: ELUSION
Author: Claudia Gabel and Cheryl Klam
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Pages: 400
Pub. Date: March 18, 2014

Goodreads | Amazon

Soon, Elusion® will change the world and life as we know it.

A new technology called Elusion is sweeping the country. An app, visor and wristband will virtually transport you to an exotic destination where adventure can be pursued without the complications—or consequences—of real life.

Regan is an Elusion insider. Or at least she used to be. Her father invented the program, and her best friend, Patrick, heir to the tech giant Orexis, is about to release it nationwide. But ever since her father’s unexpected death, Regan can’t bear to Escape, especially since waking up from the dream means crashing back to her grim reality.

Still, when there are rumors of trouble in Elusion—accusations that it’s addictive and dangerous—

Regan is determined to defend it. But the critics of Elusion come from surprising sources, including Josh, the handsome skeptic with his own personal stakes. As Regan investigates the claims, she discovers a disturbing web of secrets. She will soon have to choose between love and loyalty…a decision that will affect the lives of millions.

Suspense, thrills, and romance fuel this near-future story about the seductive nature of a perfect virtual world, and how far one girl will go to uncover the truth behind the illusions.

The Trailer

Author Q & A

Your cover is gorgeous! Did you have any say in the images or design?

Thank you! Yes, we were extremely fortunate to be part of the cover image process. The first design we saw was of a girl in the field, sort of like what’s in the center now, only that was the whole cover. But we were hoping for something that captured the otherworldly beauty of Elusion. The publisher then came back to us with two very different cover versions to choose from, and we both knew the minute we saw what is now our cover image, that it was the one. So it was sort of love at first sight in revisions!

How did they idea for Elusion come about? Are there any other books you can compare it to?

We both were brainstorming ideas for books and started discussing the amount of time people spend with their electronic devices and whether or not it’s been a positive influence on our lives. It’s a hard question to answer, and it’s even more difficult to imagine society without our devices. That general idea turned into: What will we do to escape and “get away from it all” in the future, when technology is an even larger presence in our lives?

As for books that we can compare it to, there aren’t any we can think of off the top of our heads, but there are a couple of movies. The movie producers who optioned the rights to Elusion are pitching it as “Inception meets Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.”

If you could travel back in time where and how would you travel? Why?

London, England in the late 1800’s, where we’d live in a big old mansion (think Downton Abbey), attend balls and take carriage rides, hang out with royalty (if we’re traveling back in time, we’re doing it in style) avoid Jack the Ripper and fangirl over Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle and H.G Wells. Oh-and of course, in honor of our heroine, Regan, we’d want to make a trip overseas (on a luxury passenger liner!) to America to meet the great Henry David Thoreau. And how would we get there? If we couldn’t lobby one of our characters to create a new “escape,” we’d have to borrow H.G. Wells time machine.

What do you hope to see change and stay the same in the publishing industry or in your genre?

Since we both began our Young Adult career writing contemporary, coming of age books, we’re glad to see those kind of books coming back into vogue. And we obviously love high concept, big stories that have something for everyone, so we hope those will continue to be popular as well.

All time favorite books and movies?

There are so many wonderful books that it’s really hard to choose. But as far as the classics, probably Jane Austin and the gentlemen mentioned above.

And for movies, it’s hard to name those as well, although we both love OMG! films that keep you at the edge of your seat and anything with Benedict Cumberbatch, OF COURSE. (Speaking of our boyfriend, why doesn’t he ever play a romantic lead? Sigh.)

Do you have any deleted scenes or excerpts you’ll be posting?

We might post an excerpt, but our deleted scenes were deleted for a reason. And because we like you, we won’t subject you to those. J

What sights, smells and sounds will we be experiencing in Elusion?

All we can say is, buckle up! Elusion is wild, like beauty on steroids. You’ll visit the most amazing places in the world: beaches, ice caves, mountains, prairies…even the universe – all in confectionary colors. Purple suns, pink snow, orange skies, tropical beaches with oversized flowers that smell like fruit and sand that looks like tie-dyed diamonds… We wish were there right now!

About The Authors

Claudia Gabel was born in Roanoke, VA, raised in Binghamton, NY, and moved to Manhattan after studying abroad in London during her senior year in college. She received her Masters of Arts degree in English and American Literature from Hofstra University, and planned to pursue her doctorate, until a side-job as an editorial assistant at a large book publisher permanently redirected her career course. Claudia worked as an editor in the adult divisions of several major publishing houses, then made the move to children’s books, where she hoped to inspire, educate, and entertain young readers. Along the way, she began writing novels of her own. Her first series, IN OR OUT, was based on her experiences as a freshman in high school. She wrote her mash-up novel, ROMEO & JULIET & VAMPIRES, for readers who were looking to indulge in a fun twist on William Shakespeare. And her latest novel, ELUSION, co-written with fellow author Cheryl Klam, is a glimpse into the near-future, where a girl discovers that a popular alternate reality app is not exactly what it seems. Claudia lives in New York City with her husband Ben.

To contact Claudia, try:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Tumblr

Cheryl Klam is the author (along with Claudia Gabel) of the young adult futuristic thriller, ELUSION. She is also the bestselling author of several other novels for adults and teens, including THE PRETTY ONE, which was nominated for an Isinglass Teen Read Award. Her work has been published in more than a dozen different languages. She grew up in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan and graduated from the University of Michigan. When she was a teenager she starred in Sam Raimi’s first short horror movie, later appearing as a “fake shemp” in Raimi’s cult classic: THE EVIL DEAD.

To contact Cheryl, try:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads